An inspirational quote painted on the cafeteria wall at Walnut Grove Elementary.

Since Read Across America Day is today (Saturday March 2nd), the actual birthday celebration for Dr. Seuss was celebrated by many elementary schools on Friday, March 1st.

TINY SNAIL banner by Walnut Grove students.

For this Seuss-tacular day I returned to a school I visited in 2008: Walnut Grove Elementary in Franklin, Tennessee. Students at this school celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday with a Rock-N-Roll Read-A-Thon every year. The school day is extended to 5:00 PM in order to accommodate the many Read-A-Thon activities. Students wore costumes reminiscent of the 1950’s. Girls pranced about in poodle skirts while the boys strode up and down the halls sporting sunglasses, white t-shirts, leather jackets, and loafers. They were so adorable! Throughout the day children ‘hopped’ into a favorite book during the sock hop in the gym. My author program took place in the cafeteria.

The last time I visited Walnut Grove, the walls in the cafeteria and halls were white and adorned with art by students. (See my blog post: 2008 Walnut Grove Student Art.) Since my last visit in 2008, Gale Hinton painted amazing murals on the walls.

An army of parent volunteers made this day possible for the students, and I want to especially thank Megan for coordinating our visit as well as Catherine Brown for introducing me to students. Her cheerful presence throughout the day was an awesome contribution to the program’s success. Keep reading Walnut Grove!

From Hoover, Alabama I drove north to Franklin, Tennessee where I planned to visit three more schools celebrating Read Across America, but when I arrived, everyone was buzzing about “Manhunt Monday.” All Williamson County schools were closed on February 25th so authorities could search for a school maintenance worker accused of firing a shotgun at his wife and children over the weekend. The maintenance worker had keys to every school in the district, so every school in the county closed until the man was apprehended. Thankfully he was found Monday night. Students returned to school on Tuesday, and although my first author visit in Franklin was scheduled at Edmondson Elementary on Wednesday, February 27th, the incident was still fresh in everyone’s mind.

Edmondson Elementary has over 700 children, and the students and staff are fortunate to have a very large and active PTA to support their endless stream of activities. My author visit was the perfect compliment to the school’s Read-A-Thon.

Several members of the PTA were on hand for my visit. Dana Iverson made the most amazing shortbread cookies. They were perfect depictions of characters from my books. Many thanks to Dana for the best cookies ever, and thanks to Patti Prasad who was especially helpful before, during and after the visit. Edmondson Elementary rocks!!!

The most beautiful shortbread cookies I’ve ever seen. They were so SCRUMPTIOUS, and yes, I ate most of them all by myself. (Tiny Snail was the first to be eaten!)

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The following day I visited Johnson Elementary. It is one of five elementary schools in the Franklin Special School District (FSSD). The principal, Tosha Robinson, invited me to speak with students on Thursday, February 28th. I set up in the gym at 2:00 PM and performed one presentation for all 450 (K-5) students in the school. This was one of the largest groups of students I have ever spoken to, but the program was a great success.

I returned for Reading Night later that day from 6 to 8 PM. The primary focus for Reading Night was the Scholastic Book Fair, but many other reading programs took place including teachers and parent volunteers performing reading activities with children. Many thanks to the Ms. Robinson for adding my program to the students’ busy curriculum.

Read Across America Day is observed annually on Dr. Seuss’ birthday (March 2nd), but many elementary schools plan activities for the entire week leading up to the Seuss Birthday Bash. This is a popular week for author visits, and my Read Across America Celebration began on February 26th in Hoover, Alabama where I visited Prince of Peace School.

The principal, Connie Angstadt, hosted a Writer’s Cafe where parents were invited to view the students’ writing.

Each student at Prince of Peace keeps a writer’s notebook, and every year the student adds more stories or writing to their collection. The older students (4th and 5th grades) had the largest collection of stories and art on display.

Tables displays were created to celebrate favorite authors or series of books. Of course one table was dedicated to Dr. Seuss, but others included Harry Potter, Lemony Snicket, and even Star Wars.

In addition to the Writer’s Cafe, the Scholastic Book Fair was in full swing in the library. I rarely perform an author visit during a book fair, but when I do, generally I speak to students in another part of the school such as the music room, gym, or an auditorium; but with parents visiting the Writer’s Cafe, the school was bursting at the seams. I set up in the library in front of the Scholastic book fair shelves, and the students squeezed in on the floor between tables smothered with books.

The librarian, Midge Buote (known affectionately by all as ‘Ms. B’), was very accommodating, and we appreciate everything she did to make our day a success. My visit to Prince of Peace was a great start to Read Across America Week.

It was a great treat to visit a school so close to home, and I must thank the Library Media Specialist, Mrs. Danna Caudill, for making this visit possible. Her passion for literacy and exceptional organizational skills created an event that made a lasting impact not only on the students but on the community as well.

I met Mrs. Caudill at Oak Elementary in Bartlett, Tennessee during an author visit in November 2008. My program at Oak Elementary was a great success, and when Mrs. Caudill moved to Bentonville and took a position at Willowbrook, she encouraged the Principal, Cynthia Dewey, to choose Tiny Snail for the One School, One Book program which is designed to create a shared reading experience within a single elementary school community. In January every child at Willowbrook received a copy of Tiny Snail, and over the course of a month teachers integrated the book into the curriculum.

Author’s Tea and Breakfast at Willowbrook Elementary.

Our visit began bright and early at 7:00 am on February 20th with an “Author’s Tea.” Teachers, staff and community leaders were on hand to meet and greet my husband and I in the school library.

Around midday it started to snow, but thankfully the precipitation quickly melted from the sidewalks and roads.

At 2:00 o’clock we toured the school. Nearly every hallway in the school was covered with student projects relating to Tiny Snail, and I took so many pictures (over 160) that I can’t share everything in one blog post. More pictures of student art and activities are forthcoming in the following posts:

The faculty and staff were very involved on every level. The principal, assistant principal, and librarian encouraged students to participate, and they did! Their enthusiasm was uplifting, and I did not leave empty-handed. A teacher, Jan Hoselton, presented me with art created by her kindergarten students.

Tiny Snail book covers created by kindergarten children at Hope Sullivan Elementary.

Thank you, Ms. Hoselton, for giving me their wonderful pictures. Here are a few of my favorites…

Mikaela loves Tiny Snail. I love her picture (above).

Logan combined my name with Tiny Snail’s (above). ‘Tamy Snail’ has a nice ring to it!

I also love AJ’s Tiny Snail. He even drew a colorful version of Miss Butterfly (below).

With over one thousand Kindergarten through 2nd grade students at this school, the librarian and teachers did an outstanding job sharing my stories with all the children prior to our visit.

Farragut Primary's Gym

We needed a very large space to accommodate five classes at a time (~150 students), so we set up in the school’s gym.

8:00-8:30 (Kindergarten) 5 classes

8:40 – 9:10 (Kindergarten) 5 classes

9:20 – 9:50 (Kindergarten, 1st grade) 5 classes

10 – 10:30 (1st , 2nd grades) 5 classes

10:40 – 11:10 (1st grade) 5 classes

11:20 – 11:50 (1st , 2nd grades) 5 classes

Lunch Noon – 1 PM

1:10 – 1:40 (2nd grade) 4 classes

1:50 – 2:20 (1st , 2nd grades) 6 classes

My program is designed to inspire children to create their own picture books. Generally kids make their own book after my visit, but at Farragut Primary two sisters combined their talents to create their own book prior to my arrival.

Tammy (left) with author Abigail King (middle) and her teacher, Katie Wheeler (right).

The author, Abigail King (2nd grade), said that my book, Polliwog, inspired her story entitled, Lilly Pad the Tadpole. Her sister, Jessica King, illustrated their story.

Lilly Pad the Tadpole, a picture book by Abigail and Jessica King at Farragut Primary.

Many thanks to the King sisters and Abigail’s teacher, Ms. Wheeler, for giving me this imaginitive story. I’m glad Lilly Pad learned to swim!

We were right at home in their lovely library. The librarians, Allison Anderson and Renee Arnold, were very excited about our visit. Their enthusiasm for our books prior to our arrival prepared the students who were fully engaged and asked great questions.

From left to right: Allison Anderson, Tammy Bronson, Renee Arnold.

A 2nd grade teacher, Crystal Rush, taught in Conway, Arkansas before moving to Norcross. She fondly recalled my author visit to Marguerite Vann Elementary on March 5, 2010. It’s a small world! I remember my visit to that school because a kindergarten student sent me a watercolor painting he did from my Polliwog book. It was such an amazing picture, I framed it. It still hangs in my office.

Although I often hear, “This is the best author visit we’ve ever had,” very few teachers find the time to put that in writing. My heartfelt thanks to Ms. Cherry at Greater Atlanta Christian School for taking time out of her busy schedule to post my favorite author visit review of 2011:

“Mrs. Bronson, Thank you for visiting Greater Atlanta Christian School in Norcross, GA today. I just have to tell you, that after listening to 15 years of author visits, your presentation was by far the best I have ever heard! My 4th graders greatly enjoyed your talk, learned, and were inspired to try writing their own picture book. I appreciated all of the aspects of being an author that brought to life as well as the from start to finish of the book. Learning how the books are actually put together was something that I do not think any author has ever presented. Your use of technology and explaining how you use Photoshop was also very helpful since the children are comfortable with that program. You and your husband presented a lively and informative author talk and I am thankful for your visit!”

Responses like this encourage me to continue traveling and inspiring children to be readers, writers, and lifelong supporters of the library. I am grateful for any feedback, but this was a big boost that helped me get off on the right foot in the new year. A fond farewell to 2011. Hello, 2012!

A few students simply wrote letters instead of drawing a picture. This student forgot to sign their letter, but TINY SNAIL‘s message of perseverance and never give up made a big impression:

“Thank you help me want to read more and to learn more of things learn as much I can and inspir’d me to write a book and write and try and never stop from your book the snail book”

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Thankfully one student found my program both inspiring and entertaining:

“Thank you for coming. It helped me to do beter [better] in things. My favorite part was when you droo [drew] a frog. You inspired me to never give up. You’re very funny. Love Laura”

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“Dear Mr. and Mrs. Bronson,

I have always wanted to be a writer. I have [been] making up stories since I was three years old. Thank you for coming and talking to us about your books. My favorite book is ‘SEA HORSE, RUN!’. I really want to do picture books. Thank you for coming to the school and sharing about your books. You should keep writing!

Avery”

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One student sent their letter in a separate envelope they decorated especially for me!

“Dear Mr. & Mrs. Bronson,

I had a great time when you came to our school and I really like your cute books and I can’t wait to read new ones that you wrote! I love to write and illustrate. I also want to be the same thing you are right now! You inspired me that its not those big animals that always matter. Your books tell us that even the smallest creatures are very special because God made them that way! Thanks!

Love from Liberty Christian

Bella

TIP: Keep writing!”

I will keep writing, Bella!

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A BIG thank you to ALL of the students at Liberty Christian for sending such wonderful pictures and letters. I keep my fan mail, and I will treasure your words of encouragement. You keep writing, too!

Nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Red Rocks Elementary is a wonderful school located in Morrison, Colorado, a popular tourist destination just 30 minutes from downtown Denver.

View from the Red Rocks Elementary library window.

I spoke to Red Rocks’ students on Thursday, November 10, 2011, and I was impressed that the children can see the Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater from the library window.

9:15-10:00 AM 4th, 5th, & 6th Grades

10:10-10:40 AM Kindergarten & 1st Grades

10:50-11:35 AM 2nd and 3rd Grades

Enlarged view of part of the Red Rocks Amphitheater as seen from the library window.

I regret that we did not have more time to drive into the park itself. This is an area I would love to visit again only next time as a tourist. Red Rocks Park has a fabulous website with great photos of the area at: http://www.redrocksonline.com/.

Both schools are small with only about 350 students each, and Courtney Drysdale is the librarian at both Red Rocks and Green Gables. Courtney did a fabulous job organizing our visits!

My husband and I did manage to take one day off during our trip to Denver. We spent that day in Boulder, Colorado. It was our first trip to Boulder, and my favorite tourist attraction that day was our tour of the Celestial Seasonings Tea Company. I love tea!

Celestial Seasonings Tea Shop, Boulder, Colorado

Colorado is a beautiful state, and we were very fortunate that the weather was gorgeous all week (50 degrees or more). We’re looking forward to visiting the Denver area again.